Home Sweet Home is Secretly a Lie
by crisislikewoah
Summary: A story based on Catherine's sister, tragedy strikes leaving Catherine, her niece and nephews in a cloud of mystery.
1. call the police

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

**CHAPTER ONE: call the police.**

It was 2:30 pm when Catherine Willows got the call. She was on her way to work, just shy of pulling into the parking lot.  
She picked up the ringing phone. "Hello?"  
"Aunt Catherine?" The voice sounded shaky and unsure.  
"Ricky?" Catherine asked.  
"I need your help." Her niece sounded desperate. "Please, Aunt Cath. It's an emergency."  
Catherine was just about to reply when Ricky disconnected the phone. Catherine dialed her boss, to tell him she'd be MIA for a while. It rang through to his voicemail. "Hey Gris, it's Catherine. Look, I'm gonna be a little late today. My niece called with an emergency. Call you when I can." Hanging up the phone, she pulled a U-Turn and sped down to her estranged sister's house.

When she pulled onto the side of the street, she found her niece at the end of the driveway. She wore a blank stare.  
"Ricky? What's going on?" Catherine asked. No answer. "Cricket, look at me." The girl did. "Tell me what the emergency is."  
Ricky looked back down at the ground, muttering a few words. "In the window."  
Catherine walked over to the long, narrow window on the side of the door. Her eyes widened, and jaw dropped. Her head turned slightly to the left, but her eyes didn't move. They were locked on the sight.  
"Did you go in?"  
"No." Ricky was now behind her aunt.  
"Call the police."

Ten minutes later, the police arrived with the ever-handy crime scene investigators. Ricky gave her statement to them as Gil caught sight of the back of a tall, lean blonde standing in the front yard. She was staring at the house.  
"Catherine?" He asked.  
She turned around. "Gil."  
"I got your message. Is your niece okay?"  
"I'm not sure. Right now, probably not." She let out a sigh.  
"Where is she?"  
"Over there with Brass."  
Gil turned to see a freckle faced girl with brilliant red hair standing next to Captain Brass. She looked pale, almost like part the living dead population. He looked back to his co-worker.  
"Are you okay?" It dawned on him as to what had probably happened.  
Nodding, Catherine ran a hand through her loose hair. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed again, and crossed her arms. "I never thought this would have been a problem..."

The team spread out across the house. Grissom and Warrick were processing the living room as Sara went upstairs to check it out. She came back down and checked the master bedroom, just off of the kitchen. The only important thing she found was a sleeping child. She picked him up from his crib and carried him out into the living room, careful not to wake him. "Uh, Gil?"  
He looked up. "Sorry, Maury Povich. You can't make me take a test."  
"I have good news and bad news. Bad news is, you already took the test. Good news is, you're not the father." Sara played into his little joke. Grissom smirked and started processing again. "Who do I give him to?"  
Without looking up, he replied, "Catherine."

"Andy!" Catherine plucked the small sleeping boy from Sara's arms. "Thanks Sara."  
"No problem. Is that your nephew?" She asked. Catherine nodded. "He's cute."  
Catherine looked at the small boy in her arms. "Yeah. He'll be two in a few months."


	2. a suburbia on standby

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

**CHAPTER TWO: a suburbia on stand-by.**

Ricky's alarm went off at 6 am, and she sat up with a start. Across the room, her younger brother Jeff was rubbing his eyes. The alarm woke him up too. She slipped out of the room and across the loft to wake up her older twin brothers. With that done, she tiptoed down the stairs to peek in her mother's room. Satisfied with her mother and youngest brother being okay, she and her three brothers went on with their before-school chores. "_It was _**_only_**_ a dream,_" she told herself. The four had breakfast, bickered, and left for their respective schools. The day dragged on, until finally it was time to leave.  
Stepping off the bus, which she only rode in the afternoon and hated every moment of it, Ricky was alone. The twins went directly to work from school, while Jeff's middle school hadn't let out yet. Approaching the door, she saw something she hadn't seen in the dream. A smiling face on the other side of the door. That smiling face was doing unthinkable things. When it saw her, the smiling face made one last move that left Ricky's mother lying lifeless on the floor.  
"**MOM!**"  
Instead of calling her aunt, she took her hand off of the doorknob and called the police.

"So where's the next call out at, Gris?" Catherine asked, her blonde hair falling in her face as she grabbed her seat belt and looked down to fasten it.  
"A little back neighbourhood, still being finished up." Grissom pulled out onto a busy highway. "It's called Riverchase."  
To Catherine, that meant nothing. She and her boss made small talk as he navigated his way through an older neighbourhood, then around a corner. Luminous green grass was the only colour around. All the houses were one shade or another of tan or beige, and any houses that weren't finished were surrounded by sand. As usual, Catherine had one leg hanging out of the car before it came to a complete stop. She stood in the front yard and looked down the street. "_A suburbia on stand-by,_" she thought. She looked at the house, and repressed the notion that she had seen it somewhere before. She made her way up the front walk and peered into the narrow window by the front door. She now knew where she had seen the house before. In pictures her daughter had shown her, taken while Lindsey and her niece were hanging out one day during the summer.  
Gil ended up behind her, able to see in the window by looking over Catherine's head. "Guess we'd better find out who she is, and notify her next-of-kin."  
Catherine said nothing, but nodded silently. She turned, and made her way around Grissom to get her kit from the SUV she had arrived in. She processed the doorknob before Grissom entered. She pulled a partial and a full print from it, and followed Grissom into the house. She watched her boss give the living room a once over, and ducked upstairs. Turning left, she opened the door to her left, she found a washroom. The next door was on the connecting wall, in front of her. A bedroom, with two red walls, two light blue walls, and two beds. Across the loft, there were two more bedrooms. There was one bed in each, and they were decorated in the same theme: clothes and sports gear coated the floors. The room to the left was painted dark blue, the other dark green.  
Downstairs, she examined the kitchen and master bedroom. There was a king-sized bed, and the connecting washroom held a huge closet. The closet had been converted to a small nursery. In the crib was her youngest nephew Andy, fast asleep. She picked him up, and carried him to the front room.  
"Gil, I'm gonna give a call to Child Services." She told him. He nodded without looking up. She walked out.  
Once Catherine was outside, Jim Brass went in. "Hey Grissom."  
"Hey Jim. You have ID and next-of-kin for our vic?" He asked.  
"Yeah," Brass said. " Vic's name is Diane Allen. Next-of-kin: a sister; Catherine Willows."  
Grissom looked up at his co-worker, speechless despite his open mouth.


	3. shut up, dieter

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

**CHAPTER THREE: shut up, dieter.**

Outside, Catherine decided against calling child services, and tried her sister's car door. She found it unlocked. The baby's car seat was in the back seat, and that's what she was looking for. Placing the toddler in the car seat, she was rather startled when Gil stepped up behind her.  
"Catherine."  
She didn't turn around. "Yeah, Gil?" She buckled the car seat in.  
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked.  
"What do you mean?" She turned around now.  
"You've just buckled that boy into the vic's vehicle." Gil was talking calmly, as if easing a hostage negotiator into a deal. Catherine said nothing. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
"Because at first, I didn't know it was her house," Catherine replied, finally allowing a little emotion to show through. Her eyes welled up, and she looked away. "I'd rather not do this here, Gil."  
"I know you don't want to do this here. So I'm sending you home."  
"Thank you." She shut the car door, and started to walk to the end of the drive way to collect her niece.  
"Catherine," Gil called after her. She turned around. "I can't let you take them."  
She turned back around and kept walking, putting an arm around her niece and leading her back to the car. She said nothing to Grissom. "Ricky, get in the car."  
"Catherine." Gil called after his employee, as she went inside to take her sister's car keys from the nightstand in her sister's bedroom. "Catherine!"  
Coming back out with keys in her hand, she got in the midnight blue Jeep Cherokee, started it, and opened the sun roof. She sped off around the corner as Nick Stokes was coming in to help process the house. He did a double take at the driver of the car, and pulled in the driveway where Grissom was standing, a dumbfounded look on his face.  
"Was that Willows?" Nick asked his supervisor as he stepped out of the Yukon.  
"Yeah," he said. "That was her. Hold on." Grissom pulled out his phone and dialed her cell number.  
Her voice message rang with a cheery voice. "Hi, you've reached Catherine Willows. Can't take your call right now, so after the beep, you know the drill."  
BEEEEEP!  
"Catherine, you know you aren't supposed to take kids without prearranging a meeting with Child Services first. I expect you at the lab tomorrow night, with those kids in DCF custody. I'm afraid I have to reward you with dicinaplary actions." Gil left on the recorder. "I'm sorry about this." He hung up and looked to the newcomer. "Nick, I need you to finish processing the living room. I have paperwork to fill out."  
"Yes sir," Nick reinforced his grip on the handle of the kit, and walked into the living room.

At quarter past eleven that night, the midnight blue Jeep pulled into the parking lot of the Super Target. The twins strolled out the door, and exchanged glances when they saw the Jeep.  
"What's Mom doing here?" Camden asked his brother.  
"You know as much as I do," Dieter replied.

They stepped up to the driver's window, and knocked. When the woman flipped her hair over her shoulder and revealed her face, the boys were taken aback. They hadn't expected their aunt to be driving their mother's Jeep full of kids. Catherine rolled down the window. "Hey boys." No smile, no cheer. Just a sigh. "I need you guys to follow me home."  
"It's not that hard to get home in the dark. We know our way," Camden said. "But thanks anyway, Cath."  
"It is hard, when you're going to a different house that you've never been to before. Just follow me."  
Shrugging, they followed Catherine twenty minutes in the opposite direction of their house. They truly had no idea what was going on. Their mother hadn't spoken to their aunt in years; eleven, to be exact. Dieter and Camden were weary of Catherine, based on what their parents had told them about her. Exotic dancer, poor choice in men, neighbourhood whore, the normal stuff all hateful sisters say. They were seven when the sisters cut the lines of communication, and moved after their parents' divorce was final. Three and a half years ago, their parents remarried, moved back to Vegas, and a year and a half later, their father died on a trip to Maine. Icy roads and nodding of at the wheel contributed to Jack's semi-truck veering off the road and killing him. Two months after that, their baby brother was born.  
Catherine pulled into the driveway, and the boys pulled up in front of the yard. Everyone filed out of the cars as Catherine watched the four siblings band together in the yard. Their cousin stood beside the only other girl. She opened the car door and pulled Andy out of the car seat. "_Poor thing. You have no idea what you're going through._"  
She looked up at the five teenagers. "Alright, kids. Inside."

The five kids scattered themselves around the living room. The twins sat on the couch, Jeff sat in the chair, Ricky stood up holding Andy, and Lindsey sat on the floor beside the chair.  
"Can we make this quick, Cat?" Dieter asked. He knew she hated being called that, but he got no reaction out of her. "We've got a meeting early tomorrow morning before school."  
"Shut up, Dieter." Ricky snapped. Catherine wondered how she'd learned to tell which twin was which. She couldn't tell anymore. Ricky spoke again. "We aren't going to school tomorrow."


	4. normal is nice right now

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

**CHAPTER FOUR: normal is nice right now.**

The boys just stared off as the news sank in. This was not what they had in mind when they planned their perfect senior year. Their mother was gone, never coming back. Dead.  
"What happened?" Camden asked.  
Catherine looked at Ricky. Ricky shook her head. She wasn't ready to share what she had witnessed. "We'll know soon. As soon as Grissom and Nick know, you'll know."  
"Aunt Catherine, about where we're supposed to be. They aren't gonna make you put us with Child Services, are they?" Ricky asked.  
Catherine sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, kid. Maybe. Dieter and Camden are off the hook, but you and your younger brothers aren't 18 yet. Unbelievably, your fate still rests in your mother's hands. It depends on whether she left a will or not. A will saying what would happen to you if she died." Jeff and Ricky shuddered at the last sentence that came out of Catherine's mouth. Andy didn't understand. "Of course, I'm going to try and see if I can get custody of you if your mother didn't leave a will."  
"She had one." Dieter said defensively. "She and Dad rewrote them when they got divorced, and again when they got remarried. Right after they had Andy."  
"Stop being a jerk, Dieter." Ricky told her brother.  
"Okay. I'll let Brass know." Catherine ignored Ricky's comment. "Alright, sleeping arrangements. Linds, why don't you take Ricky into your room and set up a bed? I'll take Andy." She held her arms out. Ricky shook her head.  
"No that's alright. He'll freak if he wakes up and sees that me or mom aren't near him."  
Cath nodded. "Okay, well. Jeff, you take the guest room. Camden and Dieter, if you don't mind sharing a bed, you guys can take my room."  
"Where are you gonna sleep, Mom?" Lindsey asked.  
"I'm gonna grab the couch."  
"We don't have clothes." Camden pointed out.  
"I'll take you shopping tomorrow. Just sleep in the shirts you wore to school today. Girls, you guys can share clothes since you're the same size."  
The sleeping arrangements were finalized, and the family scattered themselves amongst the house. Catherine was up all night, constantly checking on the kids. The only ones that weren't sleeping were Jeff and Ricky.

In the morning, Ricky and Jeff were out in the kitchen at 6 making breakfast for the group. Lindsey was in the bedroom. She and Ricky had made plans to go to school. Ricky would take her brothers' parking pass, and drive her mother's Jeep to school. The twins were still sleeping, and Andy was to be left with Catherine for the day. The girls would get home before Catherine had to leave for work, and Ricky would take over Andy for her.  
Catherine heard the kids in the kitchen, and peeked in on them. "Hey guys," he greeted them. "Smells good." She smiled, hoping to have one of them smile back. No such luck.  
"Thanks Aunt Cath." Jeff said. He flipped a sunny side up egg in the air. He wanted to become a chef, and often flipped things for effect. Now he just did it to concentrate on something else besides the situation at hand. "How do you like your eggs?"  
"Over-medium, please."  
Lindsey came out, ate, and slipped back into the room with Ricky. the two got dressed, slipped out Lindsey's bedroom window, and started Diane's Jeep. Ricky sped the two off to school, leaving a note on the bed for Catherine on what to do if Andy got fussy.

When they arrived at school, the two were met with plenty of condolences from peers and teachers. Apparently, the news of the death had traveled fast since yesterday afternoon. More than one teacher walked each of them to the guidance office, but none saw that they actually stayed there. More than once they ended up in their reading teacher's classroom. She offered them the little bit of normality that they needed.  
By the time that Catherine had realized that the girls were gone, it was 10:15. It was their lunch period, but they were still in their reading classroom for fear of being escorted to guidance once more. Lindsey's cell phone went off. Her mother.  
"Hello?"  
"Lindsey Willows! Where are you two?" Catherine's voice could be heard clear across the classroom.  
"We're at school, Mom. Ricky didn't think word would get around, and she didn't want to stay home so I told her I'd come with her."  
"Lindsey, you girls can't drive." Catherine sighed. "Where's the Jeep?"  
"We have it, but Ricky can drive!"  
"Good, she can follow me home. I'm on my way."  
Ricky heard this, and grabbed the phone. "Aunt Catherine, you can't make us go home. Please, school is normal, and normal is nice right now."  
"Ricky, I know you aren't in class, because I don't hear people yelling for you to turn the phone off. And you two are together."  
"No, we're not in class. We're at lunch. We're eating in a teacher's classroom."  
"As long as you go to your other classes, you can go to school the rest of the week. Well, maybe."

A few hours later, Catherine got a call from Nick. "Hello?"  
"Hey Catherine," he answered. "I've got some news for ya."  
"What's up, Nicky?"  
"Well, it turns out that your sister had high levels of methamphetamine and Vicodin in her system. Not good to mix."  
Catherine's mind raced. Vicodin? _Meth?_ "Oh my god. What else?"  
"While she had many cuts and abrasions, the definitive COD was--" Nick was cut off, and his voice was replaced by Grissom's.  
"Catherine?"  
"Hi, Gris."  
"Are those kids in custody of Protective Services?"  
"Four are sleeping and one is at school. But don't worry, Gil. I'll get them there before I come in."  
"Well, I have to tell you. Brass has just informed the that you no longer have to go to Protective Services. Protective Services are coming to you."


	5. which one of you is cricket allen?

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

**CHAPTER FIVE: which one of you is cricket allen?**

Fifteen minutes after Catherine hung up with Nick and Grissom, the clock struck 1 o'clock. A sound struck her ear. The door struck her sight. The agents from protective services were here to take the kids. Catherine was hesitating to reach for the doorknob when she heard a voice from the other side.  
"Miss Willows?"  
Catherine turned the knob. "Mrs. McCluskey." She felt stupid for being afraid to open the door. It was only her neighbour, the little old lady who used to babysit Lindsey when she worked.  
"I got another piece of your mail today. I wanted to return it to you," the woman informed her.  
"Thank you, Mrs. McCluskey." Catherine glanced up at the street, seeing a car that's passed the house multiple times.  
"I've noticed that--"  
"I'm sorry, but now's not a great time. I'm kind of on the lookout for someone. Could we...maybe continue talking tomorrow?"  
Mrs. McCluskey nodded, giving her neighbour a suspicious look. "Sure. Sure, we could do that."  
"Great. Thanks again for the..." Catherine looked down at the envelope in her hand. "Phone bill."  
"You're very welcome, Miss Willows."  
Catherine shut the door, dropped the bill on the coffee table, and walked into the kitchen. as soon as her hand made contact with the handle on the fridge door, the doorbell rang. She took a deep, irritated breath and walked to the living room. The visitor knocked. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" she yelled. "Don't get your panties in a twist."  
She pulled open the door yet again, and saw a man and a woman. The man had professionally cut brown hair, with green eyes to catch anyone's attention, and was unusually tall. Catherine guessed he was about 6'8". The woman was around her height, which was about 5'9" or so, with strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes. The man spoke.  
"Catherine Willows?"  
"Who's askin' ?"  
"My name is Jay Thomas, and this is my partner Alexa Mandell. We're with the Department of Children and Families. We're ere to take 1 year old Andrew Tyler Allen, 14 year old Jeffery Matthew Allen, and 16 year old Cricket Marie Allen into protective custody under the pretenses of the death of their last legal guardian."  
Catherine moved aside. "Come on in." They did. "I'll be right back."  
She didn't bother to excuse herself as she went to find her nephews. She found Jeff on the computer, playing a game, and Andy playing with Camden. Dieter was _still_ sleeping. She gathered up the two that were being summoned, and rejoined the two agents in the living room. Camden followed her out. "This is Jeffrey, and this is Andrew."  
"Where's Cricket?" Jay Thomas asked.  
"She and my daughter thought normalcy would be nice, so they went to school this morning."  
RING! Catherine pulled the cell phone out of her pocket. Grissom. She picked it up, again not excusing herself.  
"Can I call you back?" She asked.  
"Kids being taken?" He asked back.  
"Yeah."  
"Call me when they're gone."  
Both talkers hung up.  
"Sorry about that, it was my boss."  
"No problem. So you say Cricket went to school this morning?" The man asked. Catherine nodded. "And how did they get to school?"  
"Cricket drove them in her mother's vehicle."  
The man jotted that down in his notebook as his partner spoke. "They go to the same school?" Catherine nodded again. "What school is that?"  
"Riverwater High."  
"Same grade?" Alexa Mandell asked.  
"Yes." Catherine answered.  
The man closed his notebook. "Okay, Miss Willows. I think that's all we need from you today. Alexa, if you'll take Andrew, then we'll be on our way."  
Catherine reluctantly handed Andy to the woman and gave Jeff a hug. "You have my phone number. Call me when they let you and let me know you're okay." Jeff nodded, and followed the couple out to the car.

Grissom dialed Catherine's cell phone number.  
"Can I call you back?" She asked.  
"Kids being taken?" He asked back. Sara Sidle stepped in front of him, with Warrick Brown by her side.  
"Yeah."  
"Call me when they're gone."  
Sara and Warrick exchanged a look, and Grissom looked at them when he hung up the phone. "What?"  
"Someone's kids are being abducted and the parents aren't stopping it?" Sara asked.  
"She can't. She isn't the legal guardian."  
"That would explain it."  
"It would indeed. So what have you got for me?"  
"Well...we found that the song 'Jack and Diane' suited Diane and her late husband perfectly."  
"They were two American kids growing up in the Heartland?"  
"Kind of. Jack Allen and his parents were Irish immigrants, who moved here when Jack was 6. So by the time he got to high school, he was an American teenager. He and Diane were high school sweethearts, who married, divorced, and married again."  
"Okay. So far none of that is relevant." Grissom asked.  
"I know, I just thought it was cute." Sara smiled. "But going through her room, Nick said he found a prescription bottle with the label peeled off. I tracked down her doctor, and he said the only prescription he gave her was one for Zoloft."  
"But if that's the case, where would Diane get Vicodin?"  
"I asked about that, too. That came from an old prescription of Jack's."  
"Nick also mentioned that Doc Robbins found traces of methamphetamine in Diane's system," Warrick said. "Which would trip her out a little bit. That accounts for the cuts, old _and_ new, all over her arms."

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the receptionist's desk asked the tall woman and even taller man that had just walked in the office.  
"Yes, my name is Alexa Mandell and this is my partner Jay Thomas, we're with the Department of Children and Families. We're looking for Cricket Allen. Is there anyone who can tell us what class she's in?"  
"Yeah, sure. Mrs. Reasoner can do that for you." The lady looked over her shoulder at another woman staring at the computer screen in front of her. "Sue?" The woman looked up at her. "These people are looking for the Allen girl. What class is she in?"  
With a few taps of the keyboard, Sue said, "She's with Mrs. Hill, in room 03-231. 03, that's the blue courtyard. 231, that's upstairs."  
The two wandered around for a bit, trying to find room 03-231. When they did, they found a class full of kids and a blonde instructing them. The blonde informed them that while she had seen her on campus, Cricket hadn't shown up for class. They made their way back to the office, but saw a couple of girls wandering around the hallways. The girls wandering the hallways were Lindsey Willows and Cricket Allen.  
"Excuse me, but we're looking for a girl named Cricket Allen. Do you know who she is?"  
Lindsey looked at Cricket, and Cricket looked at Lindsey. They both shook their heads. "No, sorry. We don't know her." One said.  
"Okay, thanks." The DCF agents walked back to the office, ready to question Mrs. Sue Reasoner again. Cricket and Lindsey ducked into the classroom they had been in most of the day.  
"Mrs. Reasoner?" The extremely tall man asked. "Cricket wasn't in the room you said she'd be in." Sue Reasoner's phone rang.  
"Just a moment, please." She picked up the phone. "Sue Reasoner. Oh hey. Yeah. Really? Oh. Well, okay. Thanks." Sue Reasoner hung up the phone, and looked up at the DCF agents. "I just got a call from Karen Murray, one of our reading teachers here. She said that Cricket Allen and her cousin Lindsey Willows had been with her all day, and to excuse the absences."  
"And what classroom is hers?"  
"04-119. But it won't do you any good. She said they just left."  
"Thank you." The agents nodded and walked out. They found room 04-119, and made their way in. "Karen Murray?"  
Karen Murray nodded.  
The man kept talking. "My name is Jay Thomas, and this is my partner..." Alexa Mandell nudged her partner. He looked at her, and saw that she was looking to the side of the room. He followed her eyes.  
"Which one of you is Cricket Allen?" he asked.  
Lindsey looked at the floor. Cricket looked at Mrs. Murray. They both knew what to do.  
"I am." They both said. Then they looked at one another.  
"No, I am." Came from one.  
"No, _I_ am." Came from the other.  
They 'fought' over who was really Cricket Allen for a moment as Mrs. Murray smirked in the background. Alexa Mandell stopped them. "Okay! Here's what's going on. We're with the Department of Children and Families, and if one of you doesn't own up to not being Cricket Allen, then it's going to make both of our lives' a whole lot harder."  
"_I'm Cricket Allen!_" They both implied.  
Looking at one another, Jay Thomas and Alexa Mandell grabbed a girl each, and lead them out of the room. They got the keys to Diane's Jeep from Lindsey's backpack, and Jay drove it to the DCF office with Lindsey. Alexa Mandell drove their field car back to the DCF office with Cricket. Once they were there, they punched a 7 digit number into a telephone keypad.

Catherine Willows was certainly Miss Popularity today. she rolled her eyes as her cell phone rang again. "Hello?"  
"Miss Willows? It's Alexa Mandell with DCF. I just wanted to let you know that we have Cricket Allen and Lindsey Willows downtown at the DCF office."  
"You have Lindsey? Why do you have Lindsey?" Catherine sounded rather defensive.  
"Because when we questioned them, they both claimed to be Cricket."  
"I'll be there soon." Catherine hung up the phone. "Little wise-asses."


	6. but i'm next of kin

Disclaimer: I don't own Catherine Willows. I don't own Lindsey Willows. Nor do I own any other member/part of CSI. I do, however, own Jack Allen, Diane Allen, and their kids. Don't sue; I'm just a poor kid still in high school.

Major thanks to **dannii-29** for making me want to write more of this story.

**CHAPTER SIX: but I'm next of kin.**

Walking into the Social Services building in downtown Las Vegas, Catherine's anger was fueled even more at the sight of her daughter and niece sitting in front of her, with matching smug grins.

"You two are in so much trouble," she warned.

"Miss Willows, nice to see you again." Jay Thomas appeared in the doorway to the left of the teens.

"Yeah, you'll be seeing me a lot more." Cath informed him, choosing her words carefully. "Lindsey, go get in the car."

Both girls stood up.

"Cricket, sit down."

Both girls sat down.

"Okay, not funny anymore. Mr. Thomas? You can take the red-head. I'm going to take the blonde." Taking a hold of Lindsey's arm, Cath led her to the car and made sure she stayed there as she went back inside.

"I assume the case of mistaken identity is fixed?" Jay Thomas asked the blonde.

Cath nodded. "Yes," She said, eyes fixed on Ricky. "It was. And now that you know who's who, I'm going to assure you that this won't happen again. Right, Ricky?"

"Yes, Aunt Catherine." Ricky was looking away from both people that were in the room with her. To Ricky, the most interesting thing she could possibly look at was the wall. Crossing her arms, she sighed. "I don't want to leave my aunt's house."

Cricket looked directly at Jay Thomas, and he looked back at her. "I'm afraid we don't have a choice but to take you and your brothers. We're placing you in foster homes until the Las Vegas Crime Lab has a solid answer to the problem at hand."

"Homes? With an 's'. As in…more than one."

Thomas nodded. "We've already found families that are capable of and willing to take you in, and get you the help you need."

"No," Cricket shook her head.

"Which are you protesting to? The families or the help?"

"Neither. I'm protesting the fact that my brothers and I are being separated. That can't happen."

"Mr. Thomas," Catherine interjected. "I'm not on this case. Anything I know, they know. Anything I know is only what my boss wants me to know. With all due respect, the case won't nor can it be affected by the kids staying with me."

Thomas looked at Cricket before addressing her. "Miss Allen, I--"

"Cricket," the girl countered. "Miss Allen is my mother. Not me."

"_Cricket_," he corrected. "I can understand why you don't want to be separated from your brothers. But you and the younger ones are still considered minors by law, and you must live where we put you. In this sort of situation we can't place you with your aunt," he now looked at Catherine, "not because of the case but because of the risk factor. Miss Willows, your strong association with the crime lab and the people there are only part of the problem."

"Only 'part'?" Catherine crossed her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

"The other part of the problem is the personal side of this. Discoveries in the case may lead you to blame the children or visa versa. Living with the person who you're blaming or is blaming you for the death of someone makes for an intense environment."

"Who says we're gonna blame each other?!" Catherine's voice was raised, and Cricket sat up in her seat. Her aunt was getting defensive. "That's crazy. I would _never_ blame this on the kids! How could I blame a murder on them? Why would you even think that?"

"I think today's meeting is over, Miss Willows." Jay Thomas stood up, closing the file that had been open on his desk. "I'll contact you again when your niece and nephews have been safely placed. If you'll please step out of the room via the door behind you, leaving your niece here, I'd greatly appreciate it."

He ushered Catherine out of the office, and locked the office door from the inside with a key. He then walked over to another door in the room. He held out his arm to the door and looked at Cricket. "After you."

Cricket's only choice was to follow his direction into the side room.

---------------------

Getting back into the car, she didn't start it. Instead, she turned to her daughter. "Lindsey, why the stunt?"

Lindsey shrugged. "We thought if we both claimed to be Cricket, then they wouldn't bother with her until they talked to you." Catherine sighed. "Sorry, Mom."

"You were trying to protect your cousin from the unfamiliar, and I get that. But that doesn't make it right. So when you get home, I want you to get straight to work. You're going to clean your room, your washroom, and clean the dishes after dinner. And this weekend," Catherine smiled sweetly. "You can dust your grandmother's salt and pepper shaker collection."

"Aww, man! Come on." Lindsey pulled a face as Catherine drove away from the office building. She put the car into 'park' when she pulled up in front of their house, where she instructed Lindsey to go inside the house.

"Why, where are you going?" Lindsey asked.

"I have to go and pick up a few things. I want your room and washroom clean by the time I get back."

"Well when will that be?"

"Two and a half hours, tops. So don't screw around. Gimme a kiss."

Lindsey and Catherine kissed cheeks, and Lindsey watched as her mother took off.

--------------------

Catherine furiously parked her car in the parking lot of the Crime Lab and made her way to the front desk. "Hey Margie," she said, smiling as she greeted the secretary behind the large desk at the entrance.

"Hey Willows. What can I help you with?" The lady asked.

"I need you to tell me if Grissom is, uh," she scratched her nose, "is in his office."

"I don't think he is, but just a sec," Margie picked up the phone. "Oh, you are there. Okay. Yeah. Okay, I'm sending her back." Margie hung up the phone. "He's there and waiting for you, Willows."

Catherine smiled at the secretary. "Thanks, Margie. You're the greatest."

She headed towards the hallway, and took a right. Down the hall. Hang another right, down the hall, and face left. Knock.

"It's open," Gil's voice said through the door. Cath opened the door, to see her supervisor flipping through a case file. When he looked up at her, he closed it. "Catherine."

"Gil." Her voice was a mock cheery one.

"You're the 'her' that wanted to see me?"

"Indeed I am." She nodded and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Grissom's desk. "I wanted to know why the social worker knew certain details about my sister's case before I did."

"You just answered your own question." Gil looked from the papers he was sorting to his team member. "Social workers always get details as soon as CSIs on the case get them. You're not on this case because of your emotional ties to it, so informing you on details isn't first priority."

"But I'm next of kin. And notifying next of kin is a first priority, Gil."

He shook his head and kept his voice calm. "No, no. Notifying them is first priority to you, Catherine. And it shouldn't be. Your first priority when investigating a case should be to solve it."

Catherine huffed. "Fine. Just…tell me what you've got."

"We've got your niece's statement. That's all I can tell you until you talk to her." He from Catherine to the figure standing in the doorway behind her.

"Am…I interrupting something?" The figure asked.

"No. I was just leaving." Catherine stood, and turned to the door. "See ya later, Nicky."


End file.
